Valley of Flowers National Park

Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Natural: vii, x
Reference	335
Inscription	1988 (12th Session)
Extensions	2005

Valley of Flowers National Park is an Indian national park, nestled high in West Himalaya, is renowned for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and outstanding natural beauty. It is located in Uttarakhand state. This richly diverse area is also home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, brown bear and blue sheep. The gentle landscape of the Valley of Flowers National Park complements the rugged mountain wilderness of Nanda Devi National Park to the east. Together they encompass a unique transition zone between the mountain ranges of the Zanskar and Great Himalaya. The park stretches over an expanse of 87.50 km². Both parks are encompassed in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (223,674 ha) which is further surrounded by a buffer zone (5,148.57 km²). This Reserve is in the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves since 2004.

The Valley of Flowers is an outstandingly beautiful high-altitude Himalayan valley that has been acknowledged as such by renowned mountaineers and botanists in literature for over a century and in Hindu religion for much longer. Its ‘gentle’ landscape, beautiful meadows of alpine flowers and ease of access complement the rugged, mountain wilderness for which the inner basin of Nanda Devi National Park is renowned.

The Valley of Flowers is splashed with colour as it bloomed with hundreds of different flowers, taking on various shades of colours as time progressed. The valley was declared a national park in 1982 and now it is a World Heritage Site. The locals, of course, always knew of the existence of the valley, and believed that it was inhabited by fairies.

The valley is home to many celebrated flowers like the Brahmakamal, the Blue Poppy and the Cobra Lily. It is a much sought after haunt for flower-lovers, botanists and trekkers.

The Valley of Flowers is internationally important on account of its diverse alpine flora, representative of the Western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows ecoregion. The rich diversity of species reflects the valley's location within a transition zone between the Zaskar and Great Himalayas ranges to the north and south, respectively, and between the Eastern Himalaya and Western Himalaya flora. A number of plant species are internationally threatened, several have not been recorded from elsewhere in Uttarakhand and two have not been recorded in Nanda Devi National Park. The diversity of threatened species of medicinal plants is higher than has been recorded in other Indian Himalayan protected areas. The entire Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve lies within the Western Himalayas Endemic Bird Area (EBA). Seven restricted-range bird species are endemic to this part of the EBA.

The Valley of Flowers was declared a national park in 1982. This part of Uttarakhand, in the upper reaches of Garhwal, is inaccessible through much of the year. The area lies on the Zanskar range of the Himalayas with the highest point in the national park being Gauri Parbat at 6,719 m above sea level.

History and legends

Margaret Legge's memorial grave

Picturesque landscape near Legge's memorial grave

Valley Of Flowers

The place had disappeared from the tourist map due to its inaccessible approach, but in 1931, Frank S. Smythe, a British mountaineer, lost his way while returning from a successful expedition to Mt.Kamet and happened upon the valley, which was full of flowers. Because he was so attracted to the beauty of the area, he named it the "Valley of Flowers." He later authored a book by the same name, which unveiled the beauty and floral splendours of the valley and thus threw open the doors of this verdant jewel to nature-enthusiasts all over the world.

In 1939, Miss Margaret Legge, a botanist deputed by the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, arrived at the valley for further studies. While she was traversing some rocky slopes to collect flowers, she slipped off and was lost. Her sister later visited the valley and erected a memorial near the spot.

Prof. Chandra Prakash Kala, a botanist deputed by the Wildlife Institute of India, carried out a research study on the floristics and conservation of the valley for a decade, beginning in 1993. He made an inventory of 520 alpine plants exclusively growing in this national park and authored two important books - "The Valley of Flowers - Myth and Reality" and "Ecology and Conservation of the Valley of Flowers National Park, Garhwal Himalaya."

Valley of flowers changes its colors almost everyday

Valley of flowers keeps changing its colors so rapidly that if you stay in Ghangaria for a week and visit valley of flowers daily, you can find a change in shade from the first day and last day. From October to May valley of flowers is snow clad. As snow starts melting in summer season and seeds of flowering plants buried under the snow starts germinating the color of valley start changing to greenish from white and by the start of July month the valley of flowers is lush green with lots of flowers and some huge glaciers. The best time to visit valley of flowers depends upon your taste, but valley of flowers is always beautiful. As time passes by the end of July the glaciers will melt and the valley will be in full bloom. And the color of valley changes from lush green to bit yellowish green. And by the end of September the flowers in valley of flowers will be finishing their life cycle and drop the seeds to germinate again in the next season. Reference http://www.valleyofflowers.info

Management

There is no settlement in the national park and grazing in the area has been banned. The park is open only in summer between June and October, being covered by heavy snow during the rest of the year.

Location

State: Uttarakhand

Exact location: The Valley of Flowers is nestled in the upper expanses of Bhyundar Ganga near Joshimath in Gharwal region and the old name of this valley was Bhyundar Valley.

District: Chamoli

Nearest town: Joshimath [1]

The trek

Valley of Flowers; see trek in left hand side and valley in front

Getting to the Valley of Flowers requires a trek of about 17 km (10.5 mi). The nearest major town is Joshimath in Garhwal, which has convenient road connections from Haridwar and Dehradun, both about 270 km (168 mi) from Joshimath.

Govindghat is a small place close to Joshimath (around one hour distance), where the trek begins. From Gobindghat, a trek of 14 km (8.6 mi) brings trekkers to the Ghangaria, a small settlement located about 3 km (about 2 mi) from the valley. The valley starts near a gorge over the Pushpawati River.

Fauna

The park is home to tahr, snow leopard, musk deer, red fox, common langur, bharal, serow, Himalayan black bear, Himalayan brown bear, Pika (Mouse hare) and a huge variety of butterflies. Among the important birds and pheasant are, Himalayan Golden Eagle, Griffon Vulture, Snow Partridge, Himalayan Snowcock, Himalayan Monal, Snow Pigeon, Sparrow Hawk etc.

Flora

Flowers mostly orchids, poppies, primulas, marigold, daisies and anemones carpet the ground. Sub-alpine forests of birch and rhododendron cover parts of the park's area. A decade long study of Prof. C.P. Kala from 1993 onwards concludes that the Valley of Flowers endows with 520 species of higher plants (angiosperms, gymnosperms and pteridophytes), of these 498 are flowering plants. The park has many species of medicinal plants including Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Picrorhiza kurrooa, Aconitum violaceum, Polygonatum multiflorum, Fritillaria roylei and Podophyllum hexandrum.

Species

Gaultheria trichophylla flowering June–September, used to prepare appetizer

A flower found in the park

A flower with several insects on it

Himalayan bell flower

A fly feeding on a red flower

Morning dew on a pink flower

Multi storied flowers

A white flower

a mesmerizing scene from valley of flowers

No.	Name of Flowers	Time of flowering
1.	Rhododendron arboreum	February–June
2.	Primula denticulta	April–July
3.	Iris kemaonensis	June–July
4.	Fritillaria roylei	June–July
5.	Lilium oxypetalum	June–July
6.	Arisaema costatum	June–July
7.	Thermopsis barbata	June–July
8.	Rosa macrophylla	June–July
9.	Caltha palustris	June–July
10.	Fragaria nubicola	May–July
11.	Saxifraga roylei	July–August
12.	Anemone obtusiloba	June–August
13.	Cypripedium himalaicum	June–August
14.	Rheum australe	July–August
15.	Phlomis oracteosa	June–August
16.	Hackelia uncinata	June–August
17.	Senecio jacquemotianus	August–September
18.	Ligularia amplexicaulis	July–August
19.	Morina longifolia	July–September
20.	Geum elatum	July–August
21.	Geranium wallichianum	July–August
22.	Impatiens sulcata	July–August
23.	Meconopsis aculeata	July–August
24.	Delphinium roylei	July–August
25.	Aconitum hookeri	August–September
26.	Thalictrum reniforme	July–September
27.	Potentilla atrosanguinea	July–September
28.	Sedum ewersii	August–September
29.	Dactylorhiza hatagirea	June–July
30.	Bistorta affinis	August–September
31.	Stachys sericea	August–September
32.	Nepeta connata	August–September
33.	Pedicularis hoffmeistri	July–August
34.	Swertia hookeri	August–September
35.	Gentiana ornata	August–September
36.	Gaultheria erichophy	August–September
37.	Codonopsis affinis	August–September
38.	Angelica cyclocarpa	July–September
39.	Leontopodium jacotianum	July–September
40.	Saussurea fastuosa	July–September
41.	Campanula latifolia	August–September
42.	Cyananthus lobatus	August–September
43.	Sassurea obvallata	August–September
44.	Cremanthodium ellisii	July–September
45.	Anaphalis triplinervis	July–September
46.	Inula grandiflora	August–September
47.	Aster albescens	July–September
48.	Selinium tenuifolium	August–September
49.	Heracleum pinnatum	August–September
50.	Epilobium latisperma	August–September
51.	Silene setisperma	August–September
52.	Arenaria griffithii	August–September
53.	Corydalis juncea	August–September
54.	Erigeron multiradiatus	August–September
55.	Polygonum molle	August–September
56.	Himalayan Blue Poppy	July–September
57.	Codonopsis viridis	July–August
58.	Origanum vulgare	July–August
59.	Hackelia uncinata	July–August
60.	Salvia hins/lanata	July–August
61.	Smilacina purpurea/oleracea	June–July
62.	Viola biflora	June–August
63.	Rhodiola heterodonta	July–August
64.	Epilobium latifolium	July–August
65.	Cotoneaster integrifolius	July–August
66.	Dubyaea hispida	August–September
67.	Saussurea costus	July–August
68.	Ligularia fisheri	July–August
69.	Androsace museoidea	July–August
70.	Eritrichium conum	July–August
71.	Lindelofi anchusoides	July–August
72.	Thymus linearis	June–August
73.	Rheum webbianum	June–August
74.	Megacorpaea polyandra	June–August
75.	Trillidium govanianum	June–August
76.	Satyrium nepalense	June–August
77.	Podophyllum hexaneum	June–August
78.	Picrorhiza kurrooa	June–August
79.	Polygonatum multiflorum	June–August

Other attractions

Hem kund Sahib guru davra above the valley of flowers

How to reach

The nearest airport is in Jolly Grant, Dehradun, 295 kilometers (183 mi) away, and the nearest railway station is in Rishikesh, 276 kilometers (171 mi) away. The closest you can get to The Valley of Flowers by road is Govind Ghat. This requires around an 11 hour drive to Joshimath from Dehradun, then another one hour to Gobindghat. From Gobindghat it is a 13-kilometer (8.1 mi) trek along a steep, narrow, but well defined mountain trail to base camp at Ghangaria. This will take between 4 and 8 hours, depending on your fitness. Ghangaria has hotels with electricity and mobile towers. From Ghangaria, another 3 km trek leads to the valley.

See also

• Lakshman Ganga River
• Pushpawati River
• valley of flowers trek

References

2. Kala, C.P. 2005. Indigenous uses, population density and conservation of threatened medicinal plants in Protected Areas of the Indian Himalayas. Conservation Biology, 19 (2): 368-378. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00602.x/full

3. Kala, C.P. 2005. The Valley of Flowers; A newly declared World Heritage Site. Current Science, 89 (6): 919-920. http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/sep252005/919.pdf

4. Kala, C.P. 2004. The Valley of Flowers; Myth and Reality. International Book Distributors, Dehradun, India.

External links

• Official UNESCO website entry
• Valley of Flowers National Park
• Full Information of Valley of Flowers at www.valleyofflowers.info

File:Geranium Flowers in valley of flowers.........jpg

Geranium flowers in valley of flowers